Buy Michigan apples!

Hi- I got at my sister's place in Michigan on Christmas Eve, and okan on returning to Evanston on the 27th. This is the sister that has the fruit farm right outside Coloma. She has informed me that the apple growers here are having a hard time selling all there apples. There are just way too many this year. Alot of the growers did not pick all of their apples because they knew they could not sell them all. Please go to one of the winter farmer's markets such as Green City, and the Botanic Gardens, and purchase some local apples. Dominick's and Jewel mostly sell Washington state apples, although you can get Michigan apples quite often at Marketplace on Oakton. My sister said that there were also way too many sour cherries and blueberries this last summer. Thanks, Nancy

Ooh, we got some great Michigan Northern Spy apples at Green City market right before Xmas-- that reminds me that I owe my husband a pie! Way too many sour cherries?? Dang, I wish I knew, I totally missed cherry season this year. Are there vendors selling IQF or bucket cherries still out there?

Cheers, Jen

NFriday wrote: Dominick's and Jewel mostly sell Washington state apples, although you can get Michigan apples quite often at Marketplace on Oakton. My sister said that there were also way too many sour cherries and blueberries this last summer. Thanks, Nancy

Many of the local independents (and regional chains like Woodman's and Meijer's) source their produce locally and feature as many as 6-8 varieties of Michigan apples, usually at a 30-40% DISCOUNT to the Washington variety. So does Walmart for that matter.

OTOH, Safeway and Supervalu seem to be largely Washington and import apples and the same with Costco and Trader Joe's.

Hi- I just arrived from my sister's place in Coloma a few minutes ago. They had lots of snow when I left, so the roads were not very good for the first 30 miles. It got better when I got into Indiana. My sister lives one mile south of the Coloma I-94 interchange, and it was especially bad just driving down Friday road, because the county snow plows had not been down the road for hours, and I had a hard time figuiring out where the road was. I was almost ready to turn back when I got to the entrance for I-94, but I decided to go ahead. I brought back lots of empire and golden delicious apples with me, and one of my sisters made a sour cream apple pie for Christmas day that was wonderful. I stopped at the Dominick's on Dempster in Evanston on my way home, and while I was in there I looked at the apple selection, and I was surprised how many Michigan apples they had. I've been told that neither Dominick's or Jewel buy much local produce in the summertime. We used to sell some of our peaches to the chain stores in Detroit, and now none of the chain stores will take them except for Meijers. The chain stores only want green peaches anyway, and those never have any flavor when they ripen. If people buy apples at the farmer's market, all the money goes to the farmer, instead of all these middle men. Thanks, Nancy

Hi- There is somebody that comes to the Evanston market that sells IQF buckets of cherries all summer. Her name is Sally Stover. I know her family sells at other markets too, but I am not sure which ones. I know she used to sell at the Federal building in the loop. but I am not sure if she still does, and she might sell at one of the winter markets. Hope this helps, Nancy

An abundance of Michigan apples is available at both Fresh Farms and Lincolnwood Produce. Both stores have massive bins of at least 5 - 6 different varieties.

Fresh Farms
5740 West Touhy Avenue
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 779-7343

Lincolnwood Produce
7175 Lincoln Avenue
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
(847) 329-0600‎

Family Fruit Market on Cicero north on Irving Park is also still selling Michigan apples

I made a pie from my Michigan Northern Spy apples this weekend and it was my best apple pie ever (and I make a lot of pie). Just a little Ceylon cinnamon for seasoning-- wow. Now I must have more Michigan apples!!! I had heard the old "Spy is for pie" saying, but this was outstanding-- fruity, great apple flavor and wonderful texture (not too firm, but not sauce).

Jen

Stover is a big name in Southwest MIchigan fruit farming.I don't know who Sally Stover is but I would bet she is some relation.I know i talked to one of the Stover sons and he said they drive in a truckload of fruit to some Chicago markets everyday during the season.

I grew up in Washington State, and spent my share of time driving through apple orchards on my way to my aunt's in the summers. The situation is the same there - absolutely desperate, farmers uprooting orchards to make room for a crop that will sell, unable to beat the import market. I enthusiastically support apples grown here in the States, whether from Michigan or elsewhere. The only enemy to speak of is foreign. Could you point me to a year-round market in the NW Indiana area? I buy Michigan apples at Meijer all year, but if I could get it closer to the source I would, happily.

Hi- Sally Stover is the wife of the head honcho at the farm. She comes to the Evanston market and I think all of the weekday markets. I looked on their website, and I believe there is about 7 markets they go to in the Chicago area. They also have a huge upick at their farm, which is located down the street from Andrews University a Seventh Day Adventist college in Berrien Springs, and they might have a farm market there too. Hope this helps, Nancy

Hi- I just googled Indiana apples, and the only location in NW Indiana that is open now is Andersons Orchards and Winery
430 E. U.S. Highway 6
Valparaiso, Indiana
(219) 464-4936

I don't know if that is close enough for you. Meijers actually carries a lot of local produce. I wish Dominick'sand Jewel did the same. Hope this helps, Nancy

I found Michigan apples at Ultra Foods in Chicago Heights this past Sunday.

Suzy

Michigan Gala apples were being sold at the Uptown Aldi this week for $1.99 for a 3 pound bag. I bought the very last 2 bags in the big cardboard box that afternoon and my boys are tearing through the apples, which are tart and crisp and still very juicy. I might head over to the new Aldi on Broadway to see if they have more--but frankly, they might have more now out at the Uptown store, it might have just been a matter of stocking, which is often the case at Aldi. Anyhow, it's so much nicer (on so many levels) to buy MI apples this late in the season but it's twice as nice when they are cheaper and better tasting than their PNW or NZ counterparts.

bjt

Stanley's had MI fuji apples yesterday for 59 cents/lb. Fuji's are about the last apple to come to market and are outstanding keepers.

Hi- I could have brought back some Fuji apples with me, but I took some empire and golden delicious instead. Fuji definitely keep well compared to most apples, but they are a little too crisp for me. One of my sisters made a sour cream apple pie for Christmas dinner, and she used fuji apples in it and the pie was super. Thanks, Nancy

Hi- When I was in Whole Foods a few weeks ago they had a big display of local apples in bags, but unfortunately they did not mark the variety on any of the bags. It looked liked some of the bags contained golden delicious, but the rest of the bags are anybody's guess. Thanks, Nancy

So, you really think you're paying too much for local apples?

Caputo's in Elmwood Park had, as of Tuesday, Michigan Jonathan apples at 10 cents/lb. If you're feeling more flush, there were Romes, Red and Golden Delicious at about 59 cents/lb.

And on a related note, there were WI potatoes at like 1.89 for 5 lbs.

I picked up a few Michigan McIntosh apples the other day at the Peterson Whole Foods. Nearly all of their apples were from Washington. Unfortunately, the MI apples were flavorless and not that firm. Obviously I'm not impugning all Michigan apples. I'm just disappointed that these weren't that good since I made a point to pick them over the WA apples.

Darren72 wrote:I'm just disappointed that these weren't that good since I made a point to pick them over the WA apples.

And if the Washington apples weren't that good, would you be likewise disappointed that you chose Washington apples over Michigan apples? I'm just trying to understand your post - it sounds like Washington apples are your standard, and you're disappointed now that you chose non-Washington apples?

In my opinion, apples are apples and they tend to vary. I don't think any one state, be it, Michigan, Washington, or even New York produces "better" apples. But, Michigan is such a huge fruit producer, that there's something silly about eating Washington fruit, or Oregon fruit or whatever, when the crop produced two states over is so huge that a lot of it goes unpicked. (It goes beyond fruit as well - I read somewhere that MI is the second largest crop producing state in the nation, behind California, of course.) Anyway, I wouldn't read too much into your Whole Foods experience. I always find that whenever WF attempts to go outside its usual produce suppliers, and carry "local" produce, it's done in a half-hearted, feeble manner. The smaller grocers, like Caputo's, do a much better job. I hope Whole Foods continues to improve in this vein (I appreciate that they are at least making the effort), but I fear that changing a huge corporation's normal business practices is much like fighting city hall.

aschie30 wrote:

Darren72 wrote:I'm just disappointed that these weren't that good since I made a point to pick them over the WA apples.

And if the Washington apples weren't that good, would you be likewise disappointed that you chose Washington apples over Michigan apples? I'm just trying to understand your post - it sounds like Washington apples are your standard, and you're disappointed now that you chose non-Washington apples?

In my opinion, apples are apples and they tend to vary. I don't think any one state, be it, Michigan, Washington, or even New York produces "better" apples. But, Michigan is such a huge fruit producer, that there's something silly about eating Washington fruit, or Oregon fruit or whatever, when the crop produced two states over is so huge that a lot of it goes unpicked. (It goes beyond fruit as well - I read somewhere that MI is the second largest crop producing state in the nation, behind California, of course.) Anyway, I wouldn't read too much into your Whole Foods experience. I always find that whenever WF attempts to go outside its usual produce suppliers, and carry "local" produce, it's done in a half-hearted, feeble manner. The smaller grocers, like Caputo's, do a much better job. I hope Whole Foods continues to improve in this vein (I appreciate that they are at least making the effort), but I fear that changing a huge corporation's normal business practices is much like fighting city hall.

Aschie30, I'm a little baffled that I need to explain my post. But here goes: Whole Food had about 10 varieties of Washington apples and one variety of Michigan apples. I picked the MI one because I thought of this thread and basically agree with "that there's something silly about eating Washington fruit, or Oregon fruit or whatever, when the crop produced two states over is so huge that a lot of it goes unpicked." In particular, I didn't pick the MI apples because I wanted a McIntosh or for any other reason.

As I said, I was disappointed that the fruit wasn't that good (would have you have felt differently?). Had I picked one of the WA apples, maybe those wouldn't be good either. Had I picked MI apples at another store, maybe they would have been great. Had I picked different MI apples from the same batch at WF, maybe they would have been great. But I didn't. I picked those four apples from the MI batch at WF and was disappointed I lost the fruit lottery on that day. As I said in my post, I do not draw any conclusions about MI (or WA) apples from this experience. Yet, you seem to think I did exactly that.

I knew someone would write in and challenge my post. This is silly and I can't believe I'm actually writing more about this episode. I have to wonder: if I wrote that I bypassed 10 bins of WA apples and bought some of the MI apples, and then reported how great they were, I'm sure you'd write in to say that I shouldn't read too much into my Whole Food experience.

You said "it sounds like Washington apples are your standard, and you're disappointed now that you chose non-Washington apples". If I may be so bold, perhaps you shouldn't read too much into my post. If you must know more about my apple-shopping habits, I usually try to buy apples at the Green City Market. Sometimes they are good, sometimes not so much. Sometimes I buy them at Whole Foods or Harvestime. Sometimes these are good, sometimes they aren't. Yes, buying fruit can be a lottery, no matter what your source is. Next time I try to report on a food experience, I will try to give more details about my state of mind, what general conclusions I'm drawing or not drawing, and what qualifications there may be to said conclusions. Or, maybe I'll just tweet that I bought some good apples and leave it at that.

Darren-

Whoa -no offense intended, I just didn't understand your post. I was genuinely baffled. I wasn't sure what you were saying (which is why I asked for clarification), but the way the post was set up, it sounded (to me, anyway) that you were making a sacrifice in bypassing WA apples, that you were sorry, and indicting MI apples. I just didn't understand that because, as you point out, sometimes, an apple is deceiving - it doesn't taste as good as it should. But, in my experience, that applies to all apples, regardless of origin.

Peace.

I agree - that's why I wrote "Obviously I'm not impugning all Michigan apples."

Maybe this should be in the Meijer's string. As suggested above, that mega-store is quite Michigan-centric and does a good job of carrying MI produce (meaning, essentially, local produce), especially apples but also asparagus, cherries and other hyper-seasonal stuff. My experience is mostly with Western MI and NW IN Meijer stores, but I'd be surprised if the family-owned MI giant didn't stock the suburban Chicagoland stores similarly. I've found it to be a very reliable source of Great Lakes whitefish and perch as well.

I sensed a collective guffaw about Meijer in the dedicated Meijer thread (they do stock a lot of Hamburger Helper), but for a megastore one can apreciate the fact that it is locally (and family) owned and makes an effort to stock from local suppliers. Indeed, the place strikes me as having a cretain Northwoods sensibility that comes through in places such as MI, WI, even WA and OR -- local produce and microbrews stcked next to Velveeta, Hamburger Helper and fishing gear. What else are you going to eat with your bluegill at the cabin?

Hi- Thanks for mentioning that Meijer's carries a lot of local produce. I know that in the Michigan stores they have a list of all the Michigan growers they deal with, and during Michigan peach season, they are one of the few chain stores that carries local peaches. I know that my cousin Paul Friday who comes to the Green City Market sells Meijer's peaches. They also sell a lot of Michigan apples. I happen to like Meijer's produce section. I think that each store is allowed to buy there own produce, which means that they do not have to go through the warehouse in Grand Rapids. Thanks, Nancy

JeffB wrote:I sensed a collective guffaw about Meijer in the dedicated Meijer thread (they do stock a lot of Hamburger Helper), but for a megastore one can apreciate the fact that it is locally (and family) owned and makes an effort to stock from local suppliers. Indeed, the place strikes me as having a cretain Northwoods sensibility that comes through in places such as MI, WI, even WA and OR -- local produce and microbrews stcked next to Velveeta, Hamburger Helper and fishing gear. What else are you going to eat with your bluegill at the cabin?

They have a habit of stocking stuff ... that sells.

They spend a lot of time and effort to source midwestern-produced food as well as some imports from Southern Ontario.

JeffB,

I agree there was a redirect to portray Meijer as mediocre. When I have done walk arounds, I see enough that interests me.

I am glad to hear your comments on the whitefish and perch. Last summer, I went to an event where a chef made what I assumed initially was a scallop, which turned out to be a crabcake-type prep made from whitefish. It's on my to-do list to reverse engineer to make at home.

Large distributors of apples keep them in chambers filled with nitrogen gas to preserve. They open each chamber as need demands, then distribute them. There is an interesting article on the Michigan State College's efforts on controlled atmosphere storage of apples.

Regards,

Darren72 wrote:I picked up a few Michigan McIntosh apples the other day at the Peterson Whole Foods. Nearly all of their apples were from Washington. Unfortunately, the MI apples were flavorless and not that firm. Obviously I'm not impugning all Michigan apples. I'm just disappointed that these weren't that good since I made a point to pick them over the WA apples.

If nothing else, Macs are poor keepers, and that probably accounted for some of what you encountered.

I have to say, Woodman's has a similar craft-beer-and-100-kinds-of-white-bread orientation, but I sure come home with a lot more interestingly off-kilter things from a trip there than a trip to Meijer. They're nice stores relative to other chain groceries, much as Strack & Van Til is, sure.

Pete's at Cermak and Western always has Michigan apples.